No HD direct TV though right ?
HD Direct TV + Tivo ?
- Thread starter Sandan
- Start date
Fiasco
Tyler Durden
The HR10-250 is the DirecTV Tivo but it doesn't support MPEG 4 so you don't get all of the HD channels.
The replacement is a non TIVO unit.
As far as I know, no new Tivo based HD PVR is slated for Directv
Especially now that Direct TV just bought REPLAY TV. They now own all of the software that was developed for the Replay TV units. The software is much further along in development then the Direct TV brand units. So we are probably going to see some changes coming in the Direct TV brand units sometime next year.
Yeah I don't think it will work with Direct TV.
Correct. And as Steel Dog points out, better interfaces should be around the corner. I still don't think the current one is bad though.
They really have come along way. My favorite thing is the option to play all episodes within a folder (so you don't have to click on each one when finished). I love that.
My guess is that there are some very specific features Direct TV is after. I am thinking it will be a merging of the two versus them dumping what they have completely.
I love my Direct TV High Definition DVR's regardless.
I just bit the bullet
Sony KDL-46XBR4
Sony KDL-46XBR4
Last edited:
oooh - nice - i bought the 40 inch of that model.
you are soooo going to love that tv man. excellent choice and welcome to the club!
shawn
In looking at DTVs site it looks like the HD service is only $10/month more ?
Any catches ?
Any catches ?
Fiasco
Tyler Durden
Don't get to excited about all those "HD" channels on DTV though.
Taking a standard definition 4:3 picture and whacking the perspective so that it's stretched to 16:9 and then upconverting it to 720p doesn't make it HD.
It annoys me to no end when someone does that at home (sports bars LOVE to do it) with a SD signal so it fills their widescreen but when someone who knows better (a network) does it.... I just want to reach out and slap somebody.
??
So DTVs HD channels aren't ?
720 isn't HD
So DTVs HD channels aren't ?
720 isn't HD
Fiasco
Tyler Durden
Most are. Some supposed HD channels aren't (A&E for example is in "HD" but actually is about 80% "stretched" SD which is unwatchable).
720p most certainly is HD.
First off, don't downplay the HD channels for everyone
Yes, you get some stations that take 4:3 content and stretch it, and it pisses me off.
But a lot of them have GREAT HD content and it's worth seeing. CNNHD tonight was in FULL HD mode covering the caucuses...
MGMHD has good HD movies, HDNet Movies has good ones, UHD has great NBC shows, like Firefly, Friday Night Lights, Jericho and Battlestar Galactica...
ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD...TNT has great sports in HD all the time...
Anyways, it's worth it.
what about discovery and others [sci etc]
Do they have them or are they good?
They have both Discovery HD Theater and Discovery HD now. There is also a Science HD channel, and also the Sci-Fi HD channel.
Sci-Fi actually has some random stuff on it in HD, which is nice.
So Discovery channel stuff is real HD ?
Fiasco
Tyler Durden
Sometimes. I've seen discovery stretch 4:3 content too.
Scifi shows some HD but (to my eyes anyway) the compression appears to be higher on ScifiHD then it does on some of the other channels. Battlestar Galactica looks 100% better on universalHD then it does on ScifiHD and neither look as good as my Battlestar SD DVD's upconverted by my Onkyo's Reon video processor.
I have not seen a single HD channel on DTV that is as sharp or clear when compared to the same broadcast "over the air" from local stations (The recent spat of bowl games for example because it's pretty easy to directly compare the PQ) due to compression but your not going to get 80 "HD" (using that term loosely) channels OTA either...
For straight up holy cow factor nothing comes close to touching the OTA broadcasts of my local PBS affiliate. Shows like "Desert Speaks" or "Soundstage" are absolutely eye popping.
Don't get me wrong. There will be lots of true HD to watch on DTV but IMHO it's dissappointing to pay a premium for the HD service and ever have to look at a stretched 4:3 upconverted image.
Stretching 4:3 and messing up an images original perspective is just a huge pet peeve of mine.
Everything's a tradeoff...
IMHO DTV overhypes the amount of real HD programming they actually broadcast by a considerable margin.
Take their listed number of HD channels
subtract PPV (I don't do PPV)
subtract premium channels you don't subscribe to (Cinemax HD, HBO HD ect)
subract regional HD sports channels you don't get in your area (Fox sports Detroit?)
subract crap HD channels you will never watch or could care less if they are broadcast in HD (Tennis Channel, CMT, Golf Channel, Fox Business anyone?)
Your left with a fraction of the claimed HD channels that you will actually care to watch.
In my case it leaves about 10 HD channels + my local channels which I already get in HD free OTA. Only a few of those 10 channels actually broadcast a real HD picture 100% of the time.
Last edited:
The regular channel has some non HD stuff, but Discovery HD is where it's at. 100% HD, and I think 1080i or 1080p as well.
Two things:
DTV doesn't hype the programming, it hypes HD channels.
And second, they have no control over what TNT and TBS want to do with their broadcast. ESPNHD used to have stretch-o-vision until people complained about it enough to get them to change it.
Fiasco
Tyler Durden
Which is what I meant.
How many of those 80+ HD channels DTV promotes are worth a squirt?
How can I get in touch with those people. I want to sic them on Fox and the asinine sound effects they use for their score bar during football games.
Fiasco
Tyler Durden
There is no 1080p from Directv as the only current 1080p content sources are bluray and hddvd.
Directv doesn't even send a real 1080i signal either. They take the normal horizontal resolution of a 1080 signal (1920) and reduce it to 1280 (horizontal width of a 720 signal) and then compress the signal to conserve bandwidth.
Last edited:
Not all the DTV HD channels are created equal. The new channels available through the new MPEG4 compression are better then then the older HD channels. I have compared using my OTA and I don't see much difference if at all depending on the program. The average person at least won't be able to tell the difference.
Plus DTV keeps adding HD channels to their lineup if you have the MPEG4 box. It's by far the best HD lineup of any of the providers.
Plus DTV keeps adding HD channels to their lineup if you have the MPEG4 box. It's by far the best HD lineup of any of the providers.
Fiasco
Tyler Durden
Hows the PBS affiliate in Phoenix? Here in STL we have 4 seperate PBS channels and all broadcast a true 1080i signal and a solid 95% of the content is recorded in HD (not just upconverted SD). One is pretty much childeren only programming but the PQ... OMG... I actually watched boo bah once because it was so pretty
For OTA the tuner in my Panasonic 60" television and in my HR20 do not provide the same PQ as the tuner on my MyHD hardware decoder card in my home theatre computer (w/ signal to TV provided via RGB). Hooked up to my bedroom TV (cheap 32" Vizio) you cant discern between one source or the other.
Even w/ OTA broadcasts here in STL the PQ varies. PBS was the first of our locals to adopt HD (and well before the others at that) and the PQ from the major networks just doesn't compare to what PBS has.
Smaller HDTV's are not going to show the disparity between various signals like a 60+ inch HDTV will.
I wish DTV would come out with a PC tuner card like the cablecard for cable or the tuner cards they use for satellite in Europe. My computer and network storage is pretty integrated into my home theatre. That would reduce my sources down to just just the computer for all video/audio.
I hate that DTV forces you to pay for superfan to get sunday ticket in HD in addition to paying the monthly HD fee.
For OTA the tuner in my Panasonic 60" television and in my HR20 do not provide the same PQ as the tuner on my MyHD hardware decoder card in my home theatre computer (w/ signal to TV provided via RGB). Hooked up to my bedroom TV (cheap 32" Vizio) you cant discern between one source or the other.
Even w/ OTA broadcasts here in STL the PQ varies. PBS was the first of our locals to adopt HD (and well before the others at that) and the PQ from the major networks just doesn't compare to what PBS has.
Smaller HDTV's are not going to show the disparity between various signals like a 60+ inch HDTV will.
I wish DTV would come out with a PC tuner card like the cablecard for cable or the tuner cards they use for satellite in Europe. My computer and network storage is pretty integrated into my home theatre. That would reduce my sources down to just just the computer for all video/audio.
I hate that DTV forces you to pay for superfan to get sunday ticket in HD in addition to paying the monthly HD fee.
Last edited:
Just tried DTV and no joy on getting free system upgrade.
Any suggestions or phrases to use ?
Any suggestions or phrases to use ?
